Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Yetta Kurland to Run Again for Christine Quinn's City Council Seat

By Andrea Swalec | December 11, 2012 12:12pm

MANHATTAN — After coming up short in 2009, civil-rights attorney and community activist Yetta Kurland is going to give running for City Council another shot next year..

Kurland, who defended Occupy Wall Street protesters and fought the redevelopment of St. Vincent's Hospital, announced plans Monday to run for the Third District City Council seat currently held by Council Speaker and presumed mayoral candidate Christine Quinn.

The 44-year-old Chelsea resident said she decided to run again in 2013 to defend the underdogs.

"I think that it's a really critical juncture in our future. There's a lot at stake," Kurland said. "I've seen what's happened over the last 20 years and how our communities and the city are becoming more of a place where only the rich can live.

"My commitment [as a Council member] would be to continue my role as an advocate," she continued, listing her top issues as affordable housing, paid sick-leave and LGBT issues.

Kurland captured 31 percent of the vote in the September 2009 Democratic primary for the seat, falling behind Quinn, who won with 53 percent of the vote.

She will face off against Community Board 4 chair Corey Johnson, a rising star in the LGBT political world.

Johnson had received more than twice as much in campaign contributions as of July 16, the last time either candidate submitted financial statements.

According to city Campaign Finance Board records, Kurland had raised $75,547 and Johnson had raked in $167,346.

The Women's Democratic Club endorsed Kurland for the traditionally progressive District 3 seat — which covers Greenwich Village, the West Village, the Meatpacking District, Hudson Square, Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and Midtown — in a statement Monday.

“The Women's Democratic Club of New York City takes pride in supporting independent, non-machine, progressive candidates who care about their neighborhoods and work to improve life for all New Yorkers," president Patricia Rudden said.